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Celebrities have often donated funds or paid for classroom supplies for teachers who desperately need the help: Earlier this year, Lady Gaga donated to classrooms in Toledo, El Paso, and Gilroy following the mass shootings in those cities. in 2015, Stephen Colbert funded all $800,000 worth of teachers’ projects on DonorsChoose. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are the latest big names to help out teachers across the country with a whopping $1.2 million donation via their Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. They will fund all professional development projects through Donors Choose.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, launched by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan to give back, has announced a $1.2 million grant benefiting hundreds of teachers across the country.

The gift will fund nearly 700 different professional development projects meant to empower teachers in 36 different states, according to a press release.

The projects were initially created by teachers on the nonprofit crowdfunding platform DonorsChoose, which allows educators to make requests for classroom resources that are then sent directly to them once enough money has been raised.

“As an educator, I know that teachers want professional development opportunities to both improve their instructional practice as well as meet their immediate needs in the classroom,” Chan, 34, said in a statement. “That is why we’re partnering with DonorsChoose to help teachers apply the latest findings on how students learn best within their classroom practice and funding the individual professional development asks of teachers across the country.”

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) also announced that it will match donations to new professional development projects on DonorsChoose while funds last, and will also provide teachers access to NeuroTeach, an online tool that allows them to work the latest education research into their own classrooms.

[From People]

People shared stories from some of the teachers whose projects will be funded: Madeline Mason is a “mindfulness and social learning coach,” who has used DonorsChoose to fund numerous projects. The CZI will help her purchase “books and journals to better support teachers in their mindfulness practices.” People highlighted two other educators who will benefit from Mark and Priscilla’s donation: “an elementary school teacher in San Francisco who wants to attend a literary conference, and a middle school teacher in Baltimore looking to become board-certified.”

As someone who knows and loves many educators, I really respect and appreciate Mark and Priscilla so much for donating some of their wealth to help teachers. So many of my friends who teach open their own wallets to buy supplies because they don’t want to short-change their students, but that’s not sustainable over years or decades of teaching. We have an absolutely disastrous Secretary of Education, and school funding is dropping.

Mark and Priscilla founded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2015 after their eldest daughter, Max, was born. It’s stated mission “is to find new ways to leverage technology, community-driven solutions, and collaboration to accelerate progress in Science, Education, and within our Justice & Opportunity work.” With this donation, Mark and Priscilla are standing behind their belief that teachers and students matter, that education matters. Good for them. So many people are going to benefit from their generosity.

That’s why we partnered with @DonorsChoose to fund all professional development projects — helping 600 teachers across the country gain new training and skills to meet their students’ needs. We’re also doubling donations to professional development projects on DonorsChoose.org/CZI. #teacher #DonorsChoose #Teachersofinstagram #education #teachergoals #Donate

A post shared by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (@chanzuckerberginitiative) on Oct 17, 2019 at 7:51pm PDT

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